Rock Shoes: Scarpa Vision Velcro
1st Mar 2006
£69.99 | Velcro | size reviewed 9.5 (foot size 10) | weight 503g | low asymmetry
The Vision Velcro’s are one of the comfiest high performance shoes we have ever used. Actually they are probably one of the comfiest full stop. So much so that we wonder whether a half size down would be better – maybe, we might squeeze a bit more performance out for a little less comfort? Scarpa seem to be making a big thing of comfort as well as performance across their range. We think this is a good thing, consider this: if your feet are in pain, you won’t be putting as much effort through them and will therefore have tired arms sooner. On a recent day in the Lakes these boots were great on a couple of easier routes before the rain stopped play, only to come out the bag again just down the road for some steep bouldering as the rain turned out to be very localised! The Vision Velcro’s have a closure system unique to Scarpa, with a double back single strap. It’s quite effective, but doesn’t seem to give you the ability to crank it up really tight as other systems do and this might go some way to explaining the only real drawback of this shoe. It doesn’t quite have the stiffness for micro edges. That’s not to say it doesn’t stick some small edges though. However, it is probably one of the softest on test with great feel. The rubber “mesh” on the forefoot is great for toe spragging, but can also catch under bulges when stretching high – so watch out! They seem like very well made shoes, with only one issue - the eye of the strap on the left boot was mis-aligned slightly causing the strap to wrinkle rather than run smoothly. Not a big gripe and something you’d likely notice in the shop.
This review was carried out as part of a massive comparative review of 25 pairs of Performance Rock Shoes. We think that this could be the biggest review of such shoes ever undertaken. You can read the whole review here.